Production of Chemicals from Biomass

These points hold only partially for the production of chemicals from biomass. The smallest part of bulk chemicals consists of unfunctionalized hydrocarbons. Nevertheless, the oxygen content of biomass has to be reduced to the level needed for typical bulk chemicals. Therefore, strategies are strongly needed [7]. 

Koutinas AA, Du C, Wang RH, Webb C. Production of chemicals from biomass. In Clark J, Deswarte F, editors. Introduction to chemicals from biomass. Chichester John Wiley Sons 2008. 

The oldest method of using biomass to create energy is direct combustion, which has been used for thousands of years. Other thermochemical techniques which can be used for the production of chemicals from biomass usually involve depolymerisation at elevated temperatures and pressures. Among these are gasification, pyrolysis, liquefaction and acid hydrolysis. 

Enzymes are proteins produced by living organisms for catalysing specific reactions, such as breaking down a polymer or synthesising a chemical. Enzymatic processes are likely to be an essential part of the production of chemicals from biomass due to their potential for high specificity [55],... 

Schutta, B.D., Serrano, B., Cerro, R.L. and Abraham, M.A. 2002. Production of Chemicals from Cellulose and Biomass-Derived Compounds Through Catalytic Sub-Critical Water Oxidation in a Monolith Reactor. Biom. Bioen., 22, 365-375. 

As the production of fuels from biomass is described in Chapter 2.1, the authors want to mention that chemicals may also be classified as energy storage materials as all energy input during production is present in chemical bonds. As the formation of chemical bonds, especially the C-C bond and C-O bond synthesized by nature, is tedious, the structure given by nature should wherever possible be retained (Figure 2.2.1). This holds especially true for chemicals, in which it is not the chemical energy that is needed but the property of a special molecule. 

As with pulping and bleaching, biotechnology too could have a considerable impact on the production of chemicals from wood and other forms of plant biomass. The effects of biotechnology probably will be noticed first in areas of enzymatic hydrolysis of polysaccharides and fermentation technology. 

Radlein, D., The production of chemicals from fast pyrolysis bio-oils. In Fast Pyrolysis of Biomass A Handbook, Bridgwater, A., Ed. CPL Press Newbury, UK, 1999 pp. 164-188. 

Radlein D, The Production of Chemicals from Fast Pyrolysis Bio-oils , Fast Pyrolysis of Biomass A Handbook, A. Bridgwater et al. ppl64, CPL 1999. 

PyNc Newsletter 4, pp 21, (September 1997), Aston University, UK Radlein, D. and Piskorz, J., Production of chemicals from bio-oiT. In Kaltschmitt M, Bridgwater AV, editors, Biomass Gasification and Pyrolysis, (CPL Press, 1997), p 471-481. 

Finally, because of the small yields and scale relative to even many specialty petrochemicals, one should not automatically assume that the recovery "production" costs of chemicals from biomass pyrolysis are necessarily competitive with the actual production costs from petrochemicals there is usually a large mark-up over costs, because the markets are small, the number of producers is small and there are technical barriers to entry, sales and application development. It would be wise to codevelop recovery with a current manufacturer, just to assure distribution channels. If recovery costs are lower than conventional production, and the market is growing, there will likely be interest, because expansion capital costs can be avoided, and incremental additional production becomes feasible. 

Another example regards an aspect discussed before on the sustainability of land use for biofuels. We have already remarked the various problems in this analysis that can be summarized, in a simplified form, in reply to the question which use is the most sustainable for one ha of land. There are different possible options to produce (i) bioliquids (by fast pyrolysis), bioethanol or biodiesel, (ii) food, (iii) chemicals, (iv) electricity or (v) to feed animals. There are more options (e.g., biogas) but the present already allow a good comparison, although theoretical (land productivity depends on several factors and, for example, palms to produce the vegetable oil raw material for biodiesel is not locally in competition with the production of bioethanol from biomasses for which different climate and land characteristics are required). 

Another challenge, beyond the thermodynamic one, is that the adoption of chemicals from biomass, whether produced intentionally or as by-products, is strongly connected to the... 

Saladino R, Pagliaccia T, Argyropoulos DS, Crestini C (2007) Production of chemicals from cellulose and biomass-derived compounds advances in the oxidative functionalization of... 

Gas to liquid process including manufacturing machinery, utilities and chemicals are included within the system boundary of the conversion system as shown in Figure 1. Furthermore, the system also includes the production of diesel from biomass including both biomass harvest and diesel production. However, the use of diesel in fuel combustion is outside of the system boundary. The functional unit in this study is defined as 1 kilogram of diesel produced from gas or biomass. 

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